Gadgets for Gifts

These days the biggest gift you can give most people is a little extra time. Thirty minutes to make dinner, an hour to hit the supermarket, or even an extra minute or two to cut the veggies exactly the way the recipe recommends makes a huge difference. Since stopping the clock midweek or adding a twenty-fifth hour is not exactly a reasonable approach, we’ve collected a few ideas that are destined to work. Give any of these gadgets (or get them for yourself) this coming holiday season and your favorite relatives, co-workers and friends will find themselves with a little more time to enjoy the kitchen.

Garlic press: The savory flavor that garlic lovers adore is always most intense right after the clove has been chopped or smashed. With a good garlic press, there’s no need to spend extra time peeled and chopping. Just insert a clove (peel and all) and press right into your mixing bowl, saute pan or stockpot. In this Chipotle Olive Turkey Chili just repeat the process 3-4 times and save the chopping block for onions and peppers.

Potato ricer: Unless you’ve got to work through some serious aggression, mashing potatoes by hand (especially for an extended family) is hardly a joy. Just like the garlic press, only larger, a potato ricer makes the job easy and provides smoother, fluffier results. Simply peel and boil russets (or other starchy potatoes), then press. The ricer will extrude potatoes in thin spaghetti like shapes that break apart at the touch. All you need to do from here is mix in the milk, butter and maybe even some sliced California Ripe Olives for a change.

Emersion blender: Simmering soups conjure up the image of slaving away at the stove, but that’s not always the case. Some of the best soups require under an hour of cooking time (just to get the veggies good and tender) and a little blitz with a magic wand otherwise known as an emersion blender. Rather than pouring soups into food processors or blenders in batches (which can be messy and time consuming), emersion blenders allow you to puree soups in their cooking pots with a touch of a button. Try Carrot Olive Soup and you’ll get it in no time flat.

Mandolin: When it comes to sauteing vegetables, a good uniform cut is key. Pieces of the same size don’t just look better they cook more uniformly as well. Of course, when time is of the essence, it’s easy to get sloppy. With the help of a mandolin, even a novice cook can have thin potato slices, perfectly shredded carrots and zucchini like the restaurants serve. When cooking for a group, the mandolin can shave minutes off of every helping of this Balsamic Glazed Chicken Stir Fry.

Ice cream scoop: Sure, scoopers are great for ice cream, but they’ve got other uses as well. When it’s time to serve those mashed potatoes, there’s no better way to ensure portion control and a beautiful presentation. Baking cookies? Ice cream scoops give you the ability to speed up each batch and make sure they’re all nice and uniform. Serve up sides like Caramelized Onion Pilaf with a scooper and your plate presentation will look simply perfect.